Disclaimer: I own nothing, enjoy
AN PLEASE READ!
I don't like starting off with an author's note, usually saving them for the end of the chapter but with everything that happened in the last chapter, I feel the need to talk about some things.
There were some concerns about why I made certain characters female. I have spoken about this before but I will say again, that those changes were planned from the start and I made it known in the first main AN after chapter 3 that this would be happening.
I really do encourage people to read over the ANs (both the big ones and the small ones at the end of chapters) to keep themselves aware of big changes or story points.
But as for why the choice was made, well its because I'm not here to retell the story of Naruto. That story exists and you can find it easily, simultaneously I'm not here to tell a box cutter 'smarter Naruto' story either.
I want to create a story that people can look at and see the creative elements within it, not just having this be "A pretty good smart Naruto story" that doesn't do much else (even if I fail to finish it or it goes off in a direction I wasn't expecting). I don't enjoy reading the same story over and over and I didn't decide to start writing just to create those same stories.
With that said for those enjoying the story so far I hope you continue to enjoy it and let me know your thoughts on how things are progressing.
Naruto's opinion on the Academy was, in a word...
Complicated.
He understood the Academy was designed to educate, train, and guide its charges in their endeavor to become proud shinobi of Konoha. All well and good and his mind.
SO WHY WAS IT SO BORING?!
Naruto banged his head silently on his desk, he wasn't expecting to be handed new jutsu or high-level taijutsu from day one, he understood the value of learning the basics, but they weren't even covering the basics yet!
No, instead they got history.
Naruto swore if he had to hear about how great the Shodai was one more time he was gonna shove a tree branch down his throat!
He had been tempted to skip class and return to his morning training but decided to forgo that after Hinata pointed out to him it wouldn't look good for him to gain a reputation for playing hooky.
He reluctantly agreed, and so here he sat watching Iruka drone on and on about the significance of the Clan War era and how amazing an accomplishment the founding of the village actually was blah blah blah...
Maybe he should just make a run for it...
Before Naruto could put his plan into action, Iruka clapped loudly gathering the classes attention and waking those who had fallen asleep during his lecture.
He could however still hair the faint snoring of a certain Nara behind him and chuckled quietly to himself, picturing a certain librarian doing something similar at her own desk.
"SHIKARI WAKE UP!" The man bellowed this was a regular occurrence for Iruka, she was not the first Nara he'd taught.
Naruto swore he heard her mutter curses quietly to herself as she slowly sat up.
"...Troublesome sensei"
"Since you all seem to think my lessons are sleepings aids today we will be moving onto something more physical" Iruka started, giving a small glare towards a few repeat offenders.
"I am going to have you all paired up for supervised spars to gauge where you are stand both skill wise and physically, please make your way out to the training yards." He finished and briskly made his way out to set up the practice rings.
Naruto couldn't help but smirk a bit at the thought of finally doing something practical. Sure he didn't completely hate history, but he had long since learned a lot of what they were covering years ago with Amagi's guidance making class somewhat of a chore.
Sparring, however, was something he was definitely into! he had only ever sparred with Hinata on a few occasions, and even then the two were somewhat reluctant to actually harm one another, so they were more mock spars than anything really.
Here though, under the supervision of trained instructors and strangers as his opponents, he could afford to cut loose a bit more.
He quickly made his way outside with the rest of his class and they formed a single file line, right in front of the training field awaiting further instruction.
Looking up and down the line he could see some of his peers were clearly more excited than others to finally get their hands dirty taking note of the cocky but excited smirk of their resident Uchiha and the fanged grin spread across the Inuzuka's face.
Meanwhile, the chubby Akimichi seemed downright terrified at the prospect of hurting anyone, nervously munching away at his chips as he waited anxiously.
Iruka arrived a few moments later and stood in front of them, quietly taking in their varied expression perhaps judging how best to approach this next step in their journey.
"As I said before these matches will just test to see where you are all at individually so I have a better idea of what to work on with you all." He started, hoping to reassure students that they were not going to be penalized for performing poorly here.
"I know some of you will have been taught small bits of your clans preferred fighting styles, while others may not have any style at all, or even fought before. That's okay, just do your best for the moment." He finished before holding up a sheet of paper.
"For this exercise, I will be picking your opponents to try and keep things somewhat fair, but in future, you will occasionally be allowed to pick your preferred opponents!" Iruka had learned it was better for him to pick out the matchup unless he wanted to see some poor civilian born student get blind sighted by a clan child.
It didn't teach him much and all it did was discourage civilians from further pursuing the career.
"When I call your name please step into the ring and wait for my instructions!" he said before running down his list.
Naruto watched with minor interest at the first few fights, they were nothing special seeing as Iruka had pitted the civilian children against each other first and with no real fighting style matches quick devolved into brute force matches based more on strength than technique.
He had paid slightly more attention to the pink haired Haruno's match though, despite her frail appearance, she apparently had a mean right hook, something her opponent hadn't expected, judging by the shocked look in their eyes as they rolled out of the ring, granting her the victory.
"Hinata Hyuga and Yamanaka Ino" He heard Iruka shout.
He reached over and gave Hinata a slight pat on the back for encouragement, earning him a bright smile from the girl as she made her way to the left side of the ring, opposite of her blond-haired opponent.
Hinata stared ahead at the Yamanaka heiress and considered her options. This was a strictly, taijutsu only fight. Those who'd already had their chakra unlocked, mainly clan children, were prohibited from using it and had to rely completely on physical prowess alone to win.
That put her at a slight disadvantage, her clans fighting style relied heavily on chakra usage to do damage and incapacitate foes.
That said it wasn't as big a handicap as it seemed initially, especially not for something like a quick spar. The gentle fist style could also be used without chakra, though with less efficiency.
Striking her target rapidly with just the tips of her fingers worked rather well on its own, the smaller surface area combined with the proper amount of force, created an intense stinging pain that with enough time could wear an opponent down and made opponents twitchy.
Giving her signature gentle smile Hinata bowed to her opponent and waited for the signal to begin watching as the young blond across from her fell into her own stance.
"Begin!" Iruka shouted.
She gave her opponent little time to collect herself, darting forward she quickly slipped into the girl's guard and launched two rapid finger jabs into the girl's stomach. Immediately destroying whatever counteroffensive she could have planned as the blond's arms rapidly moved to her abused stomach trying to defend against any more punishment and sooth the sharp pain in her lower body.
That was a mistake on her part.
Hinata quickly sent an open palm crashing right into the girl's chin, pushing the blond backward and shattering her balance as without her arms available to help steady her she quickly stumbled back, unable to handle the unexpected onslaught.
Seeing the girl back peddle to the edge of the ring she quick launched her smaller frame into the girl's torso shoulder first to maximize her force and watched as the young Yamanaka was sent flying out of the ring landing solidly on her back.
"Winner, Hinata Hyuga"
Her smile never left her face as she walked back over to Naruto quickly brought her into a one-armed hug congratulating her on her quick and flawless victory.
She thanked Kami his eyes always closed when he grinned, she didn't want him to see the slight flush of red gracing her cheeks at the contact.
A few more fights had gone by, Shikari and Choji had been paired together although that proved a poor choice when they somehow both managed to get thrown out of the ring at the same time.
He would be willing to bet money that it wasn't an accident either.
Shino had been paired against Satsuki and that had proved somewhat disappointing as well, while the Aburame boy was able to briefly keep pace with her aggressive assault, the clear divide in their specialties proved itself when she finally managed to wear him down and swiftly pummeled him, forcing Iruka to call the match before any real damage could be done.
He noted the frustrated frown on the Uchiha's face as she walked back into line.
It seems she wasn't satisfied with her match.
"Last match, Kira Inuzuka and Naruto Uzumaki!"
He heard an excited yell come from the feral looking girl as she bounded to her place on the practice field practically shaking in anticipation.
It seemed like he was going to have a real fight on his hands.
He felt Hinata poke his cheek softly, her way of wishing him luck, a habit she'd picked up after he would pull hers when she stuttered or didn't say what she actually meant.
He sent her a play pout before making his way to the field and taking his place across from his eager foe.
Naruto quickly went over everything he knew about the Inuzuka clan looking for anything that would offer him an edge in his fight.
They were excellent trackers possessing heightened senses of taste, touch, sight, hearing, and especially smell.
They were also frontline fighters, savage in combat tearing through anything in their path with fangs and claws, not to mention brave to an almost unreasonable degree which made intimidation near impossible.
He was reminded of a quote he'd heard somewhere before about the tenacity of even the smallest Inuzuka.
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, its the size of the fight in the dog in the dogfight."
Staring into the eager slit eyes of his opponent he couldn't help but notice a lot of fighting spirit in there.
He did, however, recall one piece of information he'd managed to find in an old worn out text from someone who had fought with and against members from the clan that might help him.
Younger and more inexperienced clan members tended to have a slight tunnel vision, focusing heavily on more telegraphed attacks but had trouble properly defending against misdirection and feints.
He didn't know how true that was but he would keep it in mind.
"Begin!"
Hearing the starting signal Naruto decided to allow the feral girl to come to him and start on the defense. He knew that without a proper style he was at a disadvantage but hopefully his conditioning would allow him to tank some hit and react quickly enough to her offensive.
She wasted no time falling upon him like a rabid dog lashing out with a heavy punch hoping to blitz him with her higher than average speed.
He caught her fist and quickly sent his own returning punch into her surprised face, causing her to step back slightly, but not deterred in the slightest.
Did she look...more excited?!
She was on him once again and he was forced to dodge a barrage of punches and swipes, grunting in discomfort as a few of her swings managed to land or clip him as he weaved through and around strikes.
He could take punishment, but not forever.
He decided to go for something rather risky, seeing an incoming punch he grabbed her fist once again, bating her.
Predicting he was going for another punch the Inuzuka launched her free arm first, intending to repay him for his earlier counter.
He caught that too leaving them deadlocked in the center of the ring neither able to make a move.
Or at least that's what she'd thought.
Quickly pulling her forward Naruto brought his forehead harshly into contact with hers in a savage headbutt that left her seeing stars for a moment.
She wasn't the only one, Naruto stumbled slightly, releasing her arms as he did his best to shake off the ringing in his ears.
He needed to press his advantage!
Rounding on the still equally dazed girl he went on the offensive, his aim...
Put her down fast and put her down hard.
Kira still reeling from the unexpected attack was unprepared for the fist that crashed into her cheek, neither was she prepared for the one to her stomach, or her arms, or her chest.
She was too stunned to react as the blows rained down upon her, she couldn't even face her attacker, every attempt was met with another strike to the face and only increased the pounding in her head weakening her further.
She felt her legs get swept out from under her, sending her body crashing into the hard ground and a weight land roughly upon her still reeling stomach. Her arms were forced above her head and pinned tightly.
She felt the blows stop and took a moment to finally gather herself and look up at her whiskered opponent.
He towered over her, his chest heaving from both adrenalin and exhaustion from his attacks, she could see slight scuff marks on his clothes and face from where she'd managed to clip him with a few of her attacks and his forehead was colored red from the impact of the headbutt he'd hit her with.
Narrowed blue eyes bore into black as the two took a moment to savor the moment of peace and regain some energy trying to recover.
She looked at him through her blurry eyes, she hadn't thought much of the blond at first, thinking this was going to be an easy fight.
She could only kick herself at where that line of thought had brought her, pinned beneath the blond she felt anger at her loss and at the pain shooting through her head and body.
For a runt, he hit pretty hard!
At the same time though she felt satisfied, and she admitted she had fun! The Inuzuka were a rough bunch and it felt good to know there was one person at least who wasn't afraid to match her blow for blow.
"Match completed via pin, winner, Naruto Uzumaki!"
At the announcement, she saw the boy's glare vanish being replaced by a bright smile as he quickly stood up and offered her a hand.
"That was a fun match, I hope we can do it again sometime!" He said as though they hadn't just been trying to beat each other black and blue.
Kira stared his outstretched hand for a moment before taking it and allowing him to help her up.
He was a weird one but she couldn't deny she wanted to fight him again too.
And next time she would show him who was boss!
She offered him her clans signature feral smile and nodded her head in an affirmative
They would be fighting again soon if she had her way.
The two gave one last solid shake before splitting off and returning to their respective spots, Naruto being quickly fussed over by a worried Hinata and herself attend to by her faithful canine companion licking at her wounds in his own attempt to help soothe her.
Iruka stepped forward, with the final match completed he quickly addressed the class.
"You all did very well today," He said, focusing their attention back onto him "I have a solid idea of where you all stand and next week we will begin your physical training alongside instruction in the basic Academy style for those of you lacking one currently."
As he finished his announcement the final bell went off signaling the end of the day and start of the weekend, already he could hear the patter of feet of students from other classes rushing to meet their families or begin their trip home.
"Dismissed," He said chuckling in amusement as he watched his charges bolt towards the door, eager to pick up their bags and head home.
Naruto and Hinata chatted happily as they exited the Academy building, recalling their own individual matches and the few notable fights they'd seen between other members of their class thinking of moves they could incorporate into their own fighting styles and how to better prepare for future spars.
They were interrupted however by a familiar voice calling out to them, or more specifically Naruto.
"Hey! Blondie!" a gruff but distinctly feminine voice yelled out.
The two turned around and found themselves face to face with none other than Kira Inuzuka, she was panting a little as she slowed her stride to stand in front of them.
Naruto always the first to open his mouth responded cheerfully to his new sparring partner.
"Hi, Kira, what's up?" He asked, not at all intimidated by her appearance
Actually, now that he was paying attention he noticed she was actually a few inches taller than him, standing at about four foot three, add that to her more feral appearance and it wasn't surprising that some of their classmates were afraid of her.
Despite being the one to seek them out Kira suddenly seemed a bit embarrassed offering a sheepish grin, her sharp canines peeking out from her lip.
"A-Ah, well I wanted to say thanks ya know? For the fight I mean" She said, quickly clarifying, "I don't really get to go all out like that often, so I was kinda hoping..." she trailed off a bit, a hint of red on her cheeks.
Why was this so difficult?!
No one noticed Hinata's smile growing slightly more strained as she watched the interaction.
"Yeah?" Naruto question, tilting his head in confusion.
"W-Well I was kinda hoping we could hang out and do it again sometime soon, you know if that's cool with you I mean!" She asked trying to keep her composure at her rather unorthodox request.
Who asked someone to be their friend just to fight them?
Naruto thought about it for a moment, Kira was strong and she seemed friendly enough...
"Sure, I'd be happy to and I'm sure Hinata would like to join us, right Hina-chan?" He said simply, a small smile on his face as nodded.
"Ah, of course, it would be my honor." Said the bluenette, reigning in her twitching, she would have joined them regardless.
She had to watch for any vultures.
Kira nodded and gave a toothy smile, relief spreading through her that he hadn't denied her request.
"Hehe, cool I have to go, my sister is back there waiting for me, but I'll see you guys Monday!" She said waving as she sprinted off to the other side of the filed and out of sight leaving the two to watch on in silence as she disappeared.
"I think that went well." The blond said, spinning on his heel and walking off towards his earlier destination.
Hinata could only give a small laugh at her friend's rather easy going response before quickly making her way to him, falling into step at his side as they resumed their prior conversation.
Just another day in the Hidden Leaf Village.
An. Chapter complete!
Hope you all enjoyed this I tried to flesh out a few characters a little bit this time, we are going to spend some chapters in the Academy to get to know some of the more pivotal characters but by the end of that you will have an understanding of pretty much everyone.
I also wanted to do some more fight scenes since I've never really written them before having much more interest in character interactions as opposed to who can punch who harder but I will try and improve there or maybe keep fights shorter to avoid boring people if they are really bad.
Please leave me some reviews telling me what you liked, what you didn't, any questions you have, and even who you want to see get some more focus next chapter I do want you guys to have some input on events!
I also do wanna say a big thanks to everyone who supports this story, its really nice to have my first work be received so well even with some of its changes and I will work to make this a story that continues to be worth reading.
See you guys next time!
